 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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2. Zermatt is a cool place...
Pretty posh but amazing views of the Matterhorn.
3. If you want to try ski touring in Scotland then check out British BackCountry.
I am biased (... Gav and Blair are good friends!)
However their courses are great value and offer a progression of levels depending on your objectives.
With ultimate aim of producing self sufficient ski tourers.
https://www.facebook.com/britishbackcountry
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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JUST this weekend picked up a pair of Salomon S/Max 10 (2020 vintage) for days when the 95mm skis are too much to handle
2 weeks in January, probably in France
1 week in march, maybe on the Gnarlibug, or on a snoworks course or the like
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Having “substituted” Canadian Rockies for Zermatt this season, it left me with TWO potential trips on the top of the list for next season: 1) Zermatt, 2) road trip which includes spending a week at Revelstoke.
But I’m unlikely to have time to pull off both. So it’ll depend on snow condition and flight cost.
I’m also itching for a trip to Norway for some extensive cross country skiing. But that’s being pushed off into indefinite future still.
Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Tue 21-04-26 14:56; edited 1 time in total
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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I really enjoyed Zermatt although the itineraries were shut when I went (see JohnMo’s updates on Zermatt thread) so it was a pretty easy ski all told with nothing challenging on piste. Loved the views, restaurants, village though!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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More touring.
Wilder touring.
Learning to read meteo more competently to enable good Beta for wilder touring.
Better deep powder technique.
Better upper body position for better powder technique.
Being foward…not just pressuring front of boots but being forward…
Being forward by having my arms more forward and outwards…
Frankly…better technique.
Shoulder strengthening from now in order to correct the injury this season inflicted upon me by someone else.
More cycling to get to where I was a season ago when I commuted 20 miles each day, every day, whatever the weather.
A new touring helmet…oops just bought one. POC Obex. Not the lightest but everyone has sold out of Summits.
A new down jacket…opps just bought one. Or two. Haglöfs Essens and Fjern something or other.
An airbag for the Grom to take to Canada for his year at the University of BC.
Did I mention that I want to do as much touring as I can?
Trying not to let my partner pressure me into having an RV in BC when we visit the Grom. In February.
I am not camping in February.
i might be touring though.
Did I mention that I want to do more touring?
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Between now and then I need new goggles! Dual lens, photochromic… we’ll see. (Har har)
No idea about destination but if D1 has no Easter holidays then that suggests Carnival week as usual, with 20 million others. And now I think of it, D2 will have IB approaching, so not even sure about that.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Nothing booked yet. For the past god knows how many years (maybe 35?), I've skied with my best mate (not every year but most years). For the last 15 years we have been a group of 4. This year my best mate announced that he was hanging up his boots because he wasn't enjoying skiing and was scared of hurting himself sufficiently so that it would stop him doing other stuff he had planned. So the issue is, will the 3 of us carry on without him (the other 2 guys are really his buddies rather than mine, although we do get on outside of skiing) or do I find another skiing outlet? Admin keeps trying to get me on a bash, so maybe now's the time?
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Hopefully it won't re-start the bickering, but I'm debating Epic vs Ikon vs Chamonix season pass, which will then decide my relative balance of 26/27 skiing locations...
Meanwhile I've lined up a summer of extreme lows and highs - a month scuba diving in SE Asia followed by a 200-mile, 3-week wilderness hiking/mountaineering trip in the US, collecting a brace of 4,000m and 14k ft peaks. The distances involved require a selection of new even-lighter climbing gear so I can drop 2kg off my back.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Already booked Tignes for Easter 27, staying in Lavachet for the first time having done Brev and VC twice. Hoping the wife and I may be able to convince the in laws to take our children for a few days and see if we can fit in a cheeky long weekend somewhere too.
Gear wise I'll be buying my own boots having finally admitted to myself I do in fact prefer skiing to boarding these days...
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Strongly considering a PKR, or maybe two.
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Trips;
Weekend pre Christmas with lad.
Back out after Edinburgh/Glasgow rugby game about 28th Dec.
Stay NY week
Our dads and lads week that used to be at half term is now university week, so just stay out for that.
Sneaky weekend beginning of February before holidays start.
Then a dad’s only week after February holidays finish.
Finishing up with a week at Easter.
As for gear, I tried Lads black crows Captis last trip and they were fantastic, so getting a pair of them.
My boots are now about 7 years old and I feel my feet have changed recently, got a lot flatter, so I may also look at new boots.
Lastly, I’ve been reading a lot recently about lifespan of helmets and at 7 years old , I may be due one of those.
Christmas is going to be easy for Mrs 996 this year 
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You know it makes sense.
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Not doing New Year's anymore. Ski Amade again February Half Term. Mittersill for 2 weeks at Easter with my brother's family who have never skied!. Potentially doing camp at landgraaf with Impulse in October.
Doing my L1 SSE coaching at Swad in November to help out at Western Counties on Mondays. Gloucester centre have stopped open gates on Fridays due to staff reduction, big loss for me. Im unlikely to get where I wanted without it. It is likely that I will just end up just doing what I can to support western counties, especially my younger daughter who is looking more promising at the moment having moved off stubbies onto full gates.
Only likely purchases are two pairs of protector bindings for my wife and older daughter that I just ordered. Compatible with wifes skis but the elder daughter needs some new skis mount them on. She's still using 149 rossi SL's at the moment, skis steep icy stuff very well on them but at 5'7 and 65 kg they are dodgy at speed and she can't keep up with me and the younger one. Thinking about something like one of the higher end head joy skis or similar from elan or fischer. Could be anything though really, doing a ski test would be the best bet. Recommendations welcome of course. 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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I've just got up to work to the first proper snow of 2026, so that's a good start.
Blew a tyre out on the way up, not such a good start crawling round in 20cm under the truck on a slope trying to sort it lol.
So my plans are to snowboard every day between June and November, go surfing every day between December and January, then go to Japan for February 27 to mid March and do the same thing all over again. Hopefully all of that without having to deal with too many flat tyres
I'll probably destroy one or two snowboards as per usual over the next year, and replace them as needed. Have just got some FASE bindings, and looking forward to trying them out.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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KIT
Got new Faction skis
Need new Dynafit bindings & boots
Might switch to Panasonic S9 Full Frame camera (from my current Panasonic G9 Micro Four Thirds) for the video and non-editing capabilities
TRIPS
Wales whenever it snows
Had a great time in Norway last month, would like to return
Quite possibly back to Pra Loup and Les Deux Alpes repping for Equity, school ski company
Türkiye
Kackars and Ergan resort
Seriously looking at Uzbekistan and Tajikistan based on the thread on here
Svaneti region of Georgia
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@Mike Pow, yikes … seriously impressive commitments
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| valais2 wrote: |
| @Mike Pow, yikes … seriously impressive commitments |
Most of these are potential press trips
If my pitches land then BINGO
Had Slovakia, Georgia & Norway this season so fingers crossed
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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All things being equal, we'll be in the Zillertal still. So I'll be doing some teaching up in Hochfügen again during the peak weeks, and some weekends.
I want to focus on some GS training next season.
Currently planning the last 2 weeks somewhere in South East Asia, so that will have an effect on when my season starts and also what pass I buy. Potentially I'll buy the Tirol Snowcard which starts 1st October, so I can take advantage of the 6 weeks prior to the Asia trip. Unless the Zillertal pass goes back to starting on 1st October in which case I'll buy that again.
Hoping to spend 10 days in Canada at the end of Feb visiting my friend who moved over there back in about 2018/2019.
Level 4 tech exam again, which is likely to be in March. Location TBC, and hopefully this time I'll pass it!
South East Asia and Canada are currently TBC though as Mrs Swskier's work are being bought out by a company that typically makes most of the employees redundant and moves it all in house, so we'll see what the future brings.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Plan to go New Year week, not my choice but works for everyones leave.
Almost certainly will go Easter again as early next year.
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@Mike Pow, Kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan are the better options. Unless Tajikistan is some kind of expedition style ski mountaineering trip which could be epic.
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Only one week booked, from January 2nd to 9th.
Honestly, I didn’t want to book so early for next year, but the price was unbeatable, so I made an exception. I don’t think I’ll find an apartment like that again—right next to the slope—for €850.
Sometime in summer I’ll look into the Christmas holidays, and for Easter I’ll probably leave it for a last-minute decision. The plan is to work somewhere in the Black Forest as an instructor while the kids are training with their club, so I’m hoping to get more than 40 days on snow next season.
Gear? Definitely for the kids again, but I’ll go for second-hand bazaars in November. I also need to find a pair of Head + Protector bindings (new) for my wife. For me, probably nothing.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Boris wrote: |
| Almost certainly will go Easter again as early next year. |
Didn't realis that, good shout, thanks
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Would like to finally ski the Dolomites couloirs… And use the free passes on our V annual pass to ski the Jungfrau area.
Upgraded touring boots to Decoy pro - hope to get another Jan JP trip to really test them out. And maybe some touring on the Italian side.
But main gear plan is putting the legs on a Summer weightlifting upgrade program
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Nothing booked yet, but looking at Drei Zinnen as a potential option.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Les Arc 1800 booked for Feb half term, Avoriaz for opening weekend and hopefully another weekend in March as yet to be planned.
Kit/gear wise, I need to replace my prizm lenses on my flight decks (or just get a new set of goggles), so will wait until the height of summer for the good sales. Could also maybe do with some new salopettes as my current ones seem to be shrinking around the waist 
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Nothing planned as yet... I'm just waiting for a couple of friends to run in the London Marathon before I start checking for any interest.
I suspect somewhere in the 3V for us though, possibly Les Menuires, possibly back to Meribel. Will check a few things out anyway and see what is available.
No new kit required - I've got everything I need but will be servicing my skis so maybe a trip to the piste office!
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You know it makes sense.
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I don’t know where I’m going, but if they have good instructors I’d really like to take some lessons for park/jumps before I get too old and creaky. It would be nice to hit an unexpected bump with confidence rather than terror.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Booked Serfaus for March 27
Nothing new kit wise as everything we have has only had one weeks use as all new.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Trips
- Booked: New Year in Val di Fassa with all the kids (technically none of them are kids now, but I'm still paying)
- Proposed: Long weekend with my three siblings: my brother is powder-hound but my younger sister hasn't skied for 25 years. Some compromise needed here. Probably somewhere accessible in France
- Likely: Long weekend with Mrs.tsgsh before half-term, don't know where yet
- Possible: Longer(?) weekend with traditional skiing mates, would be Eurostar to BSM; dependent upon a whole host of factors (but we are overdue)
- Possible: Daytrips to Glenshee or Glencoe
Gear
New skis (Rossignol Hero Elite LT Ti), jacket & trousers (Rab Khroma, SportPursuit bargains), helmet (Salomon Arcane, half-price sale in Obergurgl), socks (Falke SK4, 3 pairs, Amazon) and a Dakine padded ski bag, all in the last year. Can't justify anything else. Oh, and I bought child #2 a pair of Völkl Peregrine XTs as a present (cheap on Absolute Snow) because the skis he had were ancient; I've skied the Deacon XT, they should suit him.
I need to get a lot more cycling in than I did last year.
I'll be thoroughly on piste barring any errors reading/remembering the piste map.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Planning now for a road trip that didn't happen this past season. I think it will be Ischgl (Galtür or Wirl), St Moritz (Surlej), and the Dolomites (either Arabba or Alba or both). Over here I'm planning a similar trip: Bachelor-Sun Valley-Grand Targhee-Tamarack-Schweitzer. All of the above areas are Ikon except GT. Looks like my gas bill is gonna hurt; geez, I wonder why?
I don't need any new gear, but my new Fischer RC4 Noize (great ski, dumb name) carvers only got 1.5 days on them this season since the snow cover was so thin here, so they still get to be called new. I'm still figuring them out; I'm not used to popsicle sticks.
More time on the bike for me too, but with the early start to golf season, I'm going to try and get my hdcp down into single digits in time for a trip to Ireland in September.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Jonny996 wrote: |
Trips;
Weekend pre Christmas with lad.
Back out after Edinburgh/Glasgow rugby game about 28th Dec.
Stay NY week
Our dads and lads week that used to be at half term is now university week, so just stay out for that.
Sneaky weekend beginning of February before holidays start.
Then a dad’s only week after February holidays finish.
Finishing up with a week at Easter.
As for gear, I tried Lads black crows Captis last trip and they were fantastic, so getting a pair of them.
My boots are now about 7 years old and I feel my feet have changed recently, got a lot flatter, so I may also look at new boots.
Lastly, I’ve been reading a lot recently about lifespan of helmets and at 7 years old , I may be due one of those.
Christmas is going to be easy for Mrs 996 this year |
There's a pair of captis on skibay UK on Facebook.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| boarder2020 wrote: |
| @Mike Pow, Kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan are the better options. Unless Tajikistan is some kind of expedition style ski mountaineering trip which could be epic. |
That may well be the case but both Kaz and Kyrg have had a lot of press recently and it's difficult to pitch to the mags and papers
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I'm currently looking at beach holidays in Greece for the family but in secret, I'm also planning for the snow season - this year's trips to Saalbach and La Plagne really have given me a massive buzz and I can't wait to go again.
I'm bound to family holiday trips so it has to be a 'well rounded' destination rather than something that is too extreme.
We have vague plans with friends to go away at New Year - some who can ski well, others who've never touched snow - so that in itself presents some obstacles to overcome, such as overall cost, logistic of getting 10 people to the Alps, and choosing a resort that suits the group. I think after this year's trip to Paradiski, it's not a bad shout but I'm erring more towards Andorra or Austria just for the cost (Austria being first choice because of the easy transfers)
I think we'll do an Easter self-drive trip again if the funds allow; most likely France because of the winter tyre thing, and with Easter falling early(ish) again in 2027, we should have decent pick of resorts to go at. Maybe that'll be the Paradiski trip, although I do fancy somewhere less popular such as Vars or Val Cenis. Whatever is on Sunweb will dictate that.
Other than that, need a new jacket - Vinted will come to the rescue - and I think I need a more forgiving board; my Lib Tech Skunk Ape is great but some days I don't feel man enough for it.... think I need something a bit flexier for general piste riding.
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| Mike Pow wrote: |
| boarder2020 wrote: |
| @Mike Pow, Kazakhstan and kyrgyzstan are the better options. Unless Tajikistan is some kind of expedition style ski mountaineering trip which could be epic. |
That may well be the case but both Kaz and Kyrg have had a lot of press recently and it's difficult to pitch to the mags and papers |
Jyrgalan has it's first lift spinning next year of what is hoped to become a mega resort to rival the euro resorts. Could be an interesting story on the future on skiing in central Asia and probably a wider audience than backcountry trip.
Tajikistan has a lot of terrain, in fact I think one of the longest glaciers outside the poles is there. The issue is access. Expedition ski mountaineering trip for some first ascents and descents could be epic. If your looking at something like that let me know I would certainly be interested as well as a couple of Kyrgyz mountain guides.
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The usual season here in Andorra. Should get out to tour a little more rather than just use lifts.
Go and explore some other local-ish places in the Pyrenees.
Hopefully, will try some of the places we get free on our season passes that I've not been to before - Norway, Brenta Dolomites.
However, some of those may get put on hold depending on where Jnr ends up. He doesn't want to come back for another season in Andorra so. He's planning Australia for the summer and then staying for a year or two (so won't do a northern hemisphere season). If Australia, doesn't happen, he's thinking of Canada which would make a nice trip.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Trips
Booked: Ischgl, January, somewhere new for me, and Solden, February, a solo return trip.
Proposed: November city break to Vienna. Do some Kultur, enjoy the cuisine, and practice the lingo.
Gear
Bib salopettes.
Snow boots (North Face Chilkats are catching my eye at the moment).
Long sleeved base layer tops.
Plans
The perennial 'lose weight, get fit(ter)' plan come August/September.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sun 26-04-26 9:02; edited 1 time in total
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FAQ
Plus sometimes half the fun is in the planning!
Just need to get as good as my son now so we'll get the most out of it 
. Poor thing took a bit of a shark attack on the edge under the front foot on the heel edge. Enough to bend the rail up about 3-4mm and the.base also has a bit of a kink in it. She’s going to retire, so more shopping on the cards before next year.
